The first version of this story was published on July 28, 2016 under the headline Palm Beach: “Issuing a strong ‘buy’ recommendation for ‘the next Bitcoin.'”
Tom Dyson, Teeka Tiwari’s publisher at Palm Beach, has a new pitch out for these cryptocurrencies, which he calls “Bit Shares,” again touting Ethereum and Bitcoin but also adding a couple others to the mix. Bitcoin and Ethereum are what he calls “Bit Shares Opportunity 1 and 2”, but they have also added some of the smaller cryptocurrencies to the pitch in this latest version.
What follows is my piece digging into Teeka Tiwari’s “next bitcoin” ad that was hinting about Ethereum last Summer, and at the end I’ll check back in with a quick update, and we’ll see if we can ID those other two cryptocurrencies.
–From 7/28/16–
I can’t help it, my first reaction when folks talk to me about alternative currencies and digital currencies is, “boy, that’s stupid. What’s the point?”
But I’m trying to be open minded, and I’m willing to learn.
My base assumption when it comes to privately created currencies like Bitcoin, which is the most famous one to date, is that the technology may be valuable but there’s no particular reason to place a specific dollar amount on the value of each digital piece of the currency. The value is in the ability to transfer money from one person or entity to another safely and quickly, but I think there is very little chance that governments around the world will cede control to a blockchain and allow it to be legal tender, or that it will supplant precious metals as a permanent “store of value.”
I’d say bitcoin has been a disappointment in terms of how much real world use it has gotten (as in people actually using bitcoin, not just trading it back and forth because they’re convinced that their local currency is being debased or because they smell a speculative opportunity), and I expect that will continue …
… but perhaps we’ll get to the point (and banks are genuinely researching and testing blockchain technologies) where the ideas behind bitcoin are a key part of the financial system. It’s just that I think we’ll still convert every dollar to bitcoin before it enters that blockchain, then convert it back to dollars as it leaves, all within a few moments — bitcoin makes sense to me as a transfer technology, but not as something you use to sock away your savings in a bitcoin wallet.
Which isn’t to say I’m unwilling to test it out. I speculate on lots of dumb things (in fact, my last “Idea of the Month” piece for the irregulars was all about dumb and speculative things I’m trying with small amounts of capital), and I have a small amount of bitcoin that I bought when I was experimenting with it a couple years ago and seeing whether it would be of any help to me (or a help to my business, as an alternative to accepting credit cards).
I didn’t find it all that convenient or useful, but I’ve still got a bitcoin wallet with a small amount of bitcoin in it… and it’s a small enough amount that I don’t need the money to pay my bills, so I’m leaving it there as a reminder to keep half an eye on this digital currency stuff.
So… when Teeka Tiwari and the folks at Palm Beach Letter started teasing that they were issuing a “strong buy” on a digital currency that they call “the next bitcoin,” I thought I should check it out. The push Tiwari is making is in ads for his Mega Trends Investing newsletter… and thankfully, he does point this out as being a high-risk investment in the ad — he implies that it could reach the heights that bitcoin did a couple years ago, when the early adopters who bought bitcoin on a lark were suddenly turning their $100 bitcoin investment into enough money to buy a Porsche, but he does note that the downside potential is 100%, so we’ll give him credit for that:
“Now, of course, the key here is position size.
“Donโt bet the farm.
“That way, you only have a small loss if youโre wrong. But you get lottery-like returns if youโre right.”
There has only ever been one digital currency that reached substantial scale before, and that generated great returns for a lot of early adopters, so it’s not necessarily true that the only two possible outcomes are “zero” or “lottery-like returns”… we really have no idea.
We’re conditioned to use comparisons because that’s the best way to justify a stock’s valuation (as, today, I looked at the difference in valuation between Facebook and Google to see what I thought made more sense), because the stock market has lots of liquidity and lots of analyst brainpower being thrown at it every day and “Mr. Market” generally wants similar companies to be assessed using the same metrics. It’s logical.
But if you’re taking one new digital currency and comparing it only to the one digital currency that has been a success (and ignoring the hundreds of others that were complete flops) you’re setting yourself up for a very biased mindset. Given the compressed timelines of modern life, you could argue that this is more like looking at the first US stock offering (the Bank of North America, in the late 18th century) and saying it would certainly be a hit and spike in value because the Dutch East India Company had been a huge hit and caused a huge bubble when it was the world’s first IPO in 17th century Holland.
Maybe that’s a reasonable mindset, since it’s probably true that this new currency is the first one to have pretty widespread adoption in the years bitcoin was introduced… but maybe not. These are uncharted waters, and there should probably be a little sign in scrolly script that says “here be monsters.” That “maybe you’ll lose it all” note should be taken more seriously than the “lottery ticket” bit.
But where’s the fun in that?
So, with all that disclaimer and dissuasion up front, what is it that Teeka Tiwari is actually talking about?
Here’s a bit from the ad:
“Will ‘The Next Bitcoin’ Make You Rich?
Are you getting our free Daily Update
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just click here...“BRIEF: In 2013, Bitcoin made headlines as it went from $13 to $1,147 (an extraordinary 8,526% gain). Now, a former Bitcoin developer has started a rival currency thatโs gone up 1,000% this year. Already, Microsoft, IBM, and 11 banks (including Wells Fargo) have tested it. ‘A new virtual gold rush is underway,’ reports the New York Times….
“Vitalik Buterin, a Canadian programmer now living in Switzerland, has just developed a secret ‘currency alternative’ that could let early investors turn every $200 placement into a rare, once-in-a-lifetime return of $6,850.”
This is, as you can certainly find with any Google search, a reference to Ethereum, a relatively new digital currency project (that’s a simplification, Buterin wouldn’t refer to it as a “currency”). The currency enabled by the Ethereum project is commonly called Ether, and yes, you can buy “1 ether” for about $12-13 these days. [update: the price spiked starting in February, it’s more like $50 now]
Tiwari’s argument is that there are three triggers that could “ignite the next bitcoin” like he says the Cyprus crisis ignited the bitcoin explosion. Those are, as he describes them, the “war on cash” with governments trying to do away with large cash transactions and large denomination bills; the move to negative interest rates; and the movement of either of those trends to the United States, which has so far resisted negative interest rates or penalties for holding or using cash.
Here’s one final bit from the ad (you can see the whole ad here if you want more):
“On March 30th, Microsoft made a huge announcementโThey will soon let over 3 million of their developers work on โthe next Bitcoinโ through their Windows platform.
“This is massive!
“By one measure, thatโs over 19 times the developers working on Bitcoin.
“As one ‘next Bitcoin’ enthusiast noted, itโs like ‘Bitcoin on steroids.’
“And as another noted, ‘I am beginning to doubt how bitcoin will manage to stay ahead.’
“So hereโs what you need to do:
“Iโm issuing a strong ‘buy’ recommendation for ‘the next Bitcoin.'”
Ether has not been around as long as bitcoin, but it is more flexible than bitcoin — and it has also been subject to what seems to have been a nasty split. Following some sort of theft of ether that I don’t really understand last month there is now Ether, typically abbreviated ETH, which has been adjusted with what they call a “hard fork” in the programming to prevent whatever happened in that theft from happening again, and “Classic Ether” (ETC).
The best explanation of Ether that I’ve come across is from one of the folks at Coinbase, which is the company I have an account with for my “bitcoin wallet,” and there’s also a short video from Vitalik Buterin here explaining the ethereum platform. (There’s also an article here about the ether/ether classic split, though you can find a lot more about that in some web browsing if you’re interested, it’s been a wild month in the world of alternative currencies.)
So what’s going to happen with ethereum, or with the ether currency?
Damned if I know.
The Microsoft interest and support for the the ethereum platform is real, though still quite small in the context of Microsoft, and I don’t know what it might mean in the end. This is still a work in progress, and people are just beginning to build tools on the platform.
It sounds really cool and powerful, but I’m not at all capable of assessing what it might do in the years ahead. The value of the ether currency in US$ terms depends on whether people have confidence in it, and whether they get excited about it and buy it more quickly than people want to sell it. Bubbles can form in anything, and interest in alternative investments and alternative currencies can certainly fluctuate dramatically. And hackers are inexorably drawn to alternative currencies, as we’ve seen by losses and collapsed exchanges in the past with bitcoin.
I do think it’s interesting, and I’ve decided to do what I did with bitcoin — buy a little bit of it and see what happens, and try to understand it more fully by reading more.
And I do mean a little bit, like the amount I might spend on a good dinner out. Thankfully, I don’t have to learn some new system or create a new account or get more involved just to get a basic transaction and start to understand it, because my Coinbase account supports both bitcoin and ether. So… now I’ve got a little bit of ether in my back pocket. And hopefully I’ll learn more. I am not counting on it creating a lottery win for me (in the ways that count, I’ve already won the lottery several times in my life), but I won’t object if I make some money from it.
That’s about all I can tell you — Ether is being promoted as a next-generation bitcoin, and ethereum as a platform is being examined by banks and financial folks just the way they’ve been looking at the bitcoin blockchain technology (you can’t “buy” into ethereum more broadly, from what I can tell, and there isn’t a stock or a for-profit enterprise in charge, it was crowdfunded and is collaborative). There’s been some discussion of Ether by readers here at Stock Gumshoe, both in relation to this ad and as a “what’s going on” query following the heist last month, and I’m sure plenty of readers know more about than I do — if so, I hope you’ll chime in below with a comment.
I don’t know if we’ll have a huge surge and an ether bubble, or if there will be another thousand alternative currencies and something better and cooler will come along that gets everyone excited… and if you think the dollar or the financial system will collapse, I’d feel a lot better about holding some gold and silver coins than I would about relying on a particular digital currency. But the blockchain idea seems here to stay, and more powerful than we yet understand when it comes to bringing security and speed to all kinds of computer communication, and I like what I read about ethereum more than I liked what I read about bitcoin a few years ago (even if I probably don’t really understand either)… it should be interesting.
–Back to the Present now, March 29, 2017–
It turns out that Tiwari’s recommendation of Ethereum last Summer was very well-timed — that cryptocurrency was still reeling a bit from concerns about a split into two different versions of the blockchain, and from a theft, but it has roughly quadrupled in value since. I did buy some at the time, and still own some, so I’ve made some money on that and I’ll keep holding to see what happens.
But most of that spike happened over just the past month or so, perhaps caused by concern about bitcoin. One “story” that makes some logical sense is that the most ardent speculators and traders, the folks who fuel all of these alt-currencies, started to “give up” on bitcoin and moved on to the next thing after the hoped-for spike on ETF approval was quashed, and ethereum is the only real cryptocurrency that’s “grown up” to some extent, with institutional investment and connections and a relatively large “market cap” compared to the other non-bitcoin cryptocurrencies, so much of the money fleeing bitcoin perhaps fled into ethereum. I don’t suppose there’s one certain answer, but that makes as much sense as anything else.
How about the other two “Bit Shares” cryptocurrencies they pitch? We get a few limited clues, so we can at least task the Thinkolator with doing some guessing. Here’s what we hear this time out:
“‘Bit Shares’ Opportunity #3:
“Recently, Teeka sat down with one of the wealthiest and most successful investors in the cryptocurrency space. This guy was one of the earliest investors in bitcoin and several other larger cryptos, and has generated an 8-figure fortune as a result.
“He has a great track record investing in cryptosโฆ which is important, because he told Teeka about a move he just made into a currency that solves a couple of bitcoinโs biggest problems.”
That person being alluded to is Roger Ver, an early bitcoin enthusiast who made a boatload of money and became a bitcoin VC investor and evangelist (Tiwari referred to him as “Bitcoin Jesus” in some older articles), and because of Ver’s publicized opinions and some reading between the lines I’d guess that this is a reference to Dash, the cryptocurrency that used to be called DarkCoin and that has been going bonkers of late (it seems like all of the cryptocurrencies have been going nutty in the Trump/Brexit/WTF-is-going-to-happen-next era).
Dash is very, very small compared to Ethereum (which itself is less than a quarter the size of bitcoin), but it is the third largest cryptocurrency according to CoinCap, and it does solve some of the problems that have afflicted bitcoin lately — particularly the slow transaction speed that Ver and many others have complained about. It also offers, they say, more privacy than bitcoin. You can learn more about Dash from their website here, I’ve not ever traded in this one and my Coinbase wallet can only transact in Bitcoin and Ethereum so I’ve not bothered to get an offline or other wallet or speculate on the littler players.
And the fourth one? Here are our clues:
“‘Bit Shares’ Opportunity #4:
“The 4th and final cryptocurrency in our report may have the most upside.
“Some cryptos, like this one, only exist to serve specific industries. In this case, itโs social media.
“The company behind this cryptocurrency is only a year old, but itโs already giving Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn serious competition for social media traffic, according to Amazonโs web analytics division.
“What if youโd invested in a social media giant when it was still just a startup?
“PayPal founder Peter Thiel made 199,900% returns from his early investment in Facebook.”
This one, the Thinkolator is pretty sure, is Steem — and it is indeed pretty unique, as I understand it so far it’s essentially a social network (Steemit) where the compensation you receive for contributing your content is not in some ephemeral notion of social status, recognition, “likes” or even, for the power users, advertising dollars, but in units of the Steem currency that are allocated as rewards for the most popular posts and comments (or, as with other cryptocurrencies, for participating in the blockchain by joining the peer-to-peer network that verifies transactions). Steem’s website is here, the “social” part, Steemit, is here. And yes, it was launched just over a year ago, in January of 2016.
It looks pretty interesting as a concept, though I can’t say that the content was all that compelling at first glance (most of the popular posts seem to be self-referential commentary about what Steem is doing or the usual twaddle you’d get if you followed a bunch of people you don’t actually know or like on Facebook or Twitter), and it has been rising rapidly in value so it is now now of the top 20 cryptocurrencies, but with a total “market cap” (units of the currency that exist, multiplied by the current US$ price at which it’s being traded) of $36 million it’s still quite tiny — Dash is at just over $600 million, Ethereum approaches $5 billion, Bitcoin is almost $17 billion.
Neither the social network nor the currency are really established enough to judge at this point, so I guess the exciting thing is that you could jump in with both feet and potentially, if you can garner some fans and followers, become a big part of that little social world, and perhaps earn a decent amount of the Steem currency that might or might not be worth something in the real world in a week or a month or a year. If you’ve got a lot of time on your hands, well, it won’t cost you anything — unlike the other cryptocurrencies, this is one you can pretty easily try to earn without buying anything.
So those are the four, sez the Thinkolator: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash and Steem. I’ve got some of the first two, in a very tiny allocation, and don’t have enough interest to spend the time it would take to learn more about Dash and Steem and begin trading in those (or participating in the Steemit community). Maybe that will appeal to you, or maybe you’ll find appeal in one of the other hundreds of cryptocurrencies that have not captured the attention of speculators, certainly there’s a lot of excitement in the sector.
This is, indeed, still very much “Wild West” stuff when it comes to all cryptocurrencies, even bitcoin — some people buy them just because they exist, with hopes of catching the next wild run like bitcoin’s surge in the early days, and to some extent that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy… cryptocurrencies in general offer the very purest form of momentum trading, as it plays out in the psychology of techie libertarians around the world.
There is, after all, nothing backing the value of a particular cryptocurrency except its popularity with other cryptocurrency holders and its own self-imposed scarcity. Scarcity isn’t enough to support a currency if the popularity part disappears, so it’s important to remember that all cryptocurrencies are ethereal — they do not carry even something as firm as the “full faith and credit” of a government as you’ll find with legal tender currencies, or a longstanding human tradition of value like you’ll find with silver and gold, they are just popular and scarce.
The value of the blockchain technology and its many interpretations and improvements and tweaks is real, but as I understand it that technology it is not owned by the holders of a cryptocurrency — holding bitcoin or ethereum because you’re convinced the blockchain will supplant current financial transaction technologies (or create something even better, like smart contracts that do away with the friction of so many transactions) is a bit like buying the raw materials used in making paper money in the 19th century because you thought it was clear that paper money was going to improve technologically and become the next big thing as the government cracked down on counterfeiting and consolidated the anarchy of private bank notes (let alone Confederate Dollars). Paper money did take off, and some companies did very well (like Crane up here in Massachusetts, which did develop anti-counterfeit fibers in the mid-19th century and grow to take most of the market for US currency paper), but that doesn’t necessarily mean that having exposure to linen, or cotton, or inks or printing presses, would have created windfalls for investors.
There’s a very real long-term risk to all of these altcoins that a government-approved and regulated blockchain, endorsed by big banks, would use the power of that technology in a way that makes the actual cryptocurrencies obsolete. The real value of cryptocurrencies, beyond the scarcity (which becomes irrelevant if the currency is unpopular) is in their ability to offer fast and secure transactions. If the technology can do that in US dollars or another major currency, and therefore help you get away from the currency risk of bitcoin or ethereum prices fluctuating, a lot of that hypothetical future promise of cryptocurrencies goes away.
The argument I’ve seen is that bitcoin (or ethereum, or whatever) will become dramatically more valuable because it will be in high demand as a transmission mechanism — and I still don’t find that argument compelling. There is a certain logic to that argument — that is what has supported the US$ to some degree over the past 40 years, the requirement that much of the world’s trade has to be converted into dollars before it can be used to buy oil from some of the major exporters, but that’s more important because those sellers of oil (or whatever) continue to hold the dollars rather than sell them, partly because they don’t want more buying pressure elevating their own currencies, and because dollars themselves were seen as safe and valuable and relatively stable. I don’t see that happening with an extra-governmental currency, and I think the idea of cryptocurrencies supplanting the fiat currencies of the world is a dream stoked by the libertarians who want government out of the money business, but that’s just my opinion.
And, as I noted, I do dabble a little bit in these — I wouldn’t ever hold on long enough to earn a 10,000% return on any meaningful investment, I’m too risk averse for that, but I do find the cryptocurrencies fascinating.
I guess you didn’t hear about Ethereum losing the equivalent of $60 million and their so-called “hard fork solution “?!?!
If you’re referring to me, yes, I did hear about it — the theft (which took place about six weeks ago) is mentioned in the article above. I don’t know if Teeka Tiwari goes into in the report he’s trying to sell or not, and I did not cover it in detail… mostly because I don’t understand how it’s going to shake out.
Wow what a timely and intelligent discussion about Ether from the summer of 2016 Travis. As discussed all 3 of my crypto’s are up about 1000% since. As a note i was buying litecoin in March 2017 for about $3.78 that today is at $31.75! I have to admit i am placing some sale orders this week to take some profits off the table on all 3. Interesting since this was published last summer Coinbase now has a tax calculator feature and recent news they have hired attorneys to fight IRS inquiries on customer buy and sales etc claiming this was confidential etc so i would suggest anyone be aware there are tax and capital gain considerations. Again thanks Travis, I am thrilled with my results and will report further in the event my coin exchange fails to deliver funds in a timely manner….
The symbol you are using; ETH is for Ethan Allen Interiors
Thanks for the info — I am not particularly interested in Ethan Allen Interiors. ETH is a pretty standard abbreviation for Etherium at the moment, but I certainly don’t intend to cause even more confusion.
That’s pretty funny Joe….I needed a good chuckle, really. We ain’t talkin about stock here, but your point is well meant and well taken. I would suggest you re-read the last paragraph of Travis’s article, the part right above the P.S. regarding the unknowns with any crypto currency. It makes a couple of my points as well, what the heck is it? The more I think I know the less i find i do know. CAUTION and due diligence are advised. Now Travis, I have an idea for gumshoe land. Just food for thought really as I don’t like to even try and give advise. I know you accept credit cards for paid subscribers, probably pay around 3-3.5% in fees. Well Coinbase will allow you to accept payment for much less. You might even accumulate a bunch to sock away for a rainy day. Just thinking out loud here but i do have a smile on my face, thanks Joe.
Thanks, will look into those credit card substitute solutions that folks like Coinbase enable — last time I checked they were not nearly up to snuff in terms of “talking” to the rest of our software, but I’m sure they’ve gotten better since then.
I’ve used coinbase to speculate in bitcoin with some success. I’m not really active but when it’s being written off you can buy some and then when global instability or something else stokes it you can sell pretty easily. It seems easier to trade stocks rather than these currencies and I’m not sure I want to own them long term. Still really interesting stuff. Money is after all mostly just bits of information anyway.
Heuristocrat-You are correct, you can take advantage of bad news and accumulate as it drops. All these (i don’t think currency is accurate as only sovereign countries can issue currency which is why the lawyers and courts are having difficulty ruling on exactly what it is…) crypto coins are highly volatile at best, while true moves in currency values are tough to call, even using ETF’s as hedges or bets. Should I have sold my bitcoins I bought for $190-290…hummm. Or buy more as it gets hit with the new theft. Honestly I don’t know, tough call. Only time will tell but I don’t own enough to call it any jackpot or lotto. If and when global instability hits my gut says its worth more. Look at what is happening in Venezuela, inflation is rampant. Look at China, currency devaluations at the will of gov’t and odds are more to follow. You want to hold your life savings in whatever local currency is available? It does give some options, good and bad.
The symbol ETH is for Ethan Allen Interiors
Ok-I think i have it all figured out, now. I have read thru various blogs and community forums for some time but never could figure certain things out for myself, my IQ must be on the hi end (just sayin). Just read this at http://www.coindesk.com/public-blockchains-community-vs-ecosystem/
really a brilliant piece, explains the hard fork. Why some have taken it and others have not and now they are seeing odd results etc. The Author is well respected and i value his past discussions. However, you must pay note to his last sentence regarding the future and disclaimer. If you want to absolutely know what you get, where it is going etc….stick with the investment pros and advise peddlers and pay the subscription fees. Cause this one ain’t set in stone, just sayin.
Another big theft, this time of Bitcoin: http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN10E0KP
I was going to post something else, but I am dismayed over the breach at Bitfinex, as involved personal accounts. Also I noted a beach of secure data which involves giving your credit card to the account, something I have not done and probably will not.
http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/bitcoin-exchange-coincut/
http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/second-massive-breach-bitcoin-worth-72-million-stolen-hong-kong-n622061
My only concern with Ethereum is that there is some ‘buy in’ and testing with the major banks. Does this mean there has been some commitment to allow control or governance by the banks of Ethereum digital currency? If so, i would assume there are no limits to the way banks would tax/inflate/govern-control ethereum currency? This was the whole purpose of Bitcoin, to not allow anyone to control or own the system. While ethereum seems more flexible/faster than Bitcoin, i prefer a platform that can’t be manipulated by governments or big banks.
I understand your concern SBH, but this is certainly not my only concern. There are many. Yes there are and hopefully will continue to be considerable investments by the major banks. About a year or so ago (hope i don’t get in trouble for naming names) Blythe Masters moved from wallstreet to the digital currency arena. I was a little alarmed, if there is any truth to the manipulators theory’s etc of who controls what, then know the Master is in the house. But then again, show me or name me a platform or medium that really can’t be manipulated by the big banks cause i ain’t aware of any.
I have three small cryptocurrency holdings. BTC, ETH and GNT. It is in the “don’t care if I lose it all” part of my portfolio. I like the “leadership” team behind ETH and all the backers.
From my understanding Bitcoin is “coming to a fork” and Coinbase is not going to recognize the fork….there will be two Bitcoins emerging from the fork….Bitcoin Core BTC and Bitcoin Unlimited BTU. Palm Beach folks suggest transferring your Bitcoin to another wallet…Abra and/or Jaxx. These two sites will give 1 new Bitcoin for every old Bitcoin held if the fork splits.
I think the jury is still out with Coinbase. I have to trust that they will do what is best for the customer. When ether did the fork Coinbase took a month to convert ETH to ETC but I am glad they went with the flow. By the way the price of ether was $10 last summer when travis wrote this….it is now about $50. The Chinese are buying with both fists. Where will it me next year….my guess is above $200 so we will see…
Considering that even the big banks are crooked, ala Wells Fargo, why would any sane person invest even a nickel in a scheme like electronic money. Haven’t you heard that even the Defense Dept and other high level agencies have been hacked. You’ll wake up some day and find all your money vanished.
If it does in fact begin to replace the dollar and become invisible to the Governments of the world, watch for an all out war. If it succeeds, the Governments will control it.
Government regulation is inevitable. The Chinese are looking at how to regulate Chinese exchanges, and yes it is not improbable to think you are safe from confiscation in some form or the other. But Ether and Bitcoin are the future. I would never say they will replace the dollar, but when you consider as I that everything i own (home, car, bank account, broker accounts etc) are all based in one thing and one thing only…the value of the US Dollar. I can sleep better at night knowing I have some hedges for what the future holds.
Now living in virtual reality this stuff works. But it is missing one thing and that is reality. Just like 100% driver less cars won’t work. I won’t even try to explain why it will not work in reality. Because if you don’t know why the argument will not ever end. Only time will tell, the only answer to have peace on this subject is simply time. Now it could work but the equation has to many human variables for it to work. Virtual Reality is good food to chew on. But I prefer the hidden food (hidden manna) .
This has always seemed to remind me of the South Seas Company, or the Tulip Mania, based on the greater fool theory. I could understand purchasing shares in the company that created this great money transferring technology but not the way it is being presented.
That’s an excellent article, many thanks. I think I’ll take a small dive like you did.
I use abbra to buy bitcoin. ITS an app that you use to Putnam money in and by changing the currency to bitcoin it changes your funds into bitcoin.
While you are talking about “Bit Shares”, you should visit http://www.bitshares.org
The trends contain a lot of pros/cons on the currency. My question is what companies will emerge as the main block chain technology drivers? It took a while, but we are beginning to see who the main IoT and VR Tech compnies. Block chain? Travis mentioned MSFT dablling in it. Who else?
A great source of news in crypto is http://www.coindesk.com I read it daily and many large corporate investors have been pouring millions into the technology for years.
A quick edit – us libertarian dreamers don’t necessarily want Gov’ts out of the “money” business – we want Private Central Banks who aren’t the gov’t out of the money business.
My son has been big on trying to get me into Bitcoin, my challenge to him was to buy it and then sell when it goes up. There seems to be no problem buying into it but selling it seems to be a different story. Has anyone out there reaped any gains on cryptocurrencies or has anyone been able to trade in and out of it relatively easy?
Thanks.
Absolutely….i use Coinbase and have recently sold some ether and bought some litecoin. You choose between limit orders or sale at market. I prefer limit so i know exactly how much etc. It is my understanding the exchanges mostly trade between their account holders, it is also my understanding most of these exchanges are unregulated…this is why China regulators are talking about changing the rules.
How do you use limit orders on Coinbase? Or buy Litecoin?
Good question….go to http://www.gdax.com for your buys and sells. It is part of coinbase, But GDAX is the “global digital assets exchange” they started about a year ago. Just click on buy or sale, then click on market or limit and so forth.
Flipr-Coinbase.com has now added both to the lineup, however i use the sister trading platform at http://www.gdax.com using the same email and password instead. Honestly i find gdax much more user friendly and they make trading in and out using limit or market orders much like my online stock brokerage. As far as your son buying a few months back, he is a smart kid. I only assume he is seeing some hugh gains this year too….what a ride. I read from April a lady having problems spending bitcoin in certain countries with apparently some highly regulated pharmaceuticals…i hate to hear that but as Travis has mentioned, some added regulation is needed and will come as it goes more and more mainstream. As for me, i have never spent any of my crypto. I know I can at certain websites but why would i want to spend them, yet. They are way too valuable and i consider them an investment still. Congrads to your son, hopefully he is so far ahead of the game in profits. By the way i found a website at http://www.coinmarketcap.com that tracks all the crypto. this past january they tracked about 400 crypto’s….as of 5/12/17 they list 835 and the list is growing. Many have come and gone (or blown up) leaving investors holding the bag. As it turns out i only own 3 of the top 4 and plan to limit it to the biggest and best from here on out. Far to much risk otherwise so buyer beware.
I’m bran new to this I’m not sure where to start? what website do i start a wallet? just how do i start? So much information, I just got a little lost in what to do 1st.
Please do some DD, there is much to learn and soooo much many don’t truly understand…it is technology you are buying and I maintain it is the future of money….i would re-read much of what has been written here. Where to start….go to http://www.youtube.com and search for your answers. I use youtube for much including baking a cake or fixing my car. Crypto currencies are still in their infancy, in a year or 2 they will be more mainstream and my opinion….much more valuable.
All is not quite so rosy in the world of cryptocurrency buying, holding, spending and selling. Coinbase is being enthusiastically investigated by FInCEN.gov in its quest to locate money launderers, terrorists and tax cheats. This has an unfortunate side effect: Coinbase now has its computing systems set to pick out and shut down the account of anyone who has a transaction with a party that the system has been programmed or taught (or self-taught if AI) to regard as a money launderer, etc. I opened a Bitcoin account with Coinbase recently to facilitate purchase overseas of a pharmaceutical that I am prescribed but that is not in my insurer’s formulary. It is hugely expensive to buy at retail in the US..
It was a pharmaceutical vendor who pushed me to open an account at Coinbase when it stopped taking credit cards..
Thus I find a certain irony in now not being able to use the Coinbase exchange to conduct the very purchases which pushed me into giving them business in the first place.
The person (or computer pretending to be a person — one never knows nowadays) who notified me that my account had been closed (summarily) also informed me that I would not be given any explanation. In other words. Coinbase may well have shut my account and may yet shut others for any reason whatsoever — such as being well over a “cool” age of, like, 14 to 34 years. Or not doing enough exchanging or other business to resemble an attractive and profitable customer.( It is legal for US citizens and residents to bring in small amounts of pharmaceuticals for personal use, though FDA blocks overall importing of pharmaceuticals (which are almost always much cheaper abroad) citing the bogeyman of safety. However, the majority of our pharmaceuticals are made in places such as China or India and of feed stock originating in such places,, so there is little point to being squeamish, although there is value in being careful, By and large Big Pharma gets its drugs made in “less developed countries” for pennies a pill before selling them to Americans for $3.00 or $12.00 or $35.00 or $68.00 per pill. Or more.
Not wanting to waste time and energy learning new, non-Coinbase means for walleting and spending Bitcoins, I have directed a protest to the company CEO via good old-fashioned snail mail, certified etc.
I share this with other irregulars in order to point out political risk to the value of Bitcoins, Eretheums and so on. Fallout from government intervention/ investigations has potential to lessen the value of crypto-currencies. How many accounts and trades will be foregone before the last money-launderers, terrorists and tax cheats are rounded up and thrown in jail? In many ways the utility and even survival of crypto-currencies depends on the degree to which governments maintain a live-and-let-live attitude.
All true deboruth, this industry is still in it’s infancy. Problems will occur, just read a few weeks ago Coinbase is fighting the IRS requests for information on trades….my guess is many have not paid tax’s on massive gains over the last few years. So buyer be aware, the tax man cometh. My CPA says he dunno about how to report gains, talk about new industries, tax laws are not clear either. My answer, report gains just like stocks, use BTC as the ticker etc. At my age i don’t need problems with the IRS but ya know it is the kinda problem i like to have…..my balance keeps going thru the roof and I am willing to “pay my fair share” as ol Bernie likes to say.